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Missing tourist (15),North Platte, Nebraska

The Lincoln County Sheriff's Office has issued an alert for a missing 15-year-old female teenager who Florida authorities say may be in or heading to North Platte.

According to Lincoln County Chief Deputy Sheriff Dean Sparks, Eman Mohammad Alsayegh, a Kuwaiti national, and her family were vacationing in Kissimmee, Fla., at the time of her disappearance. The family left the location where they were staying, leaving Eman at the residence alone for the day.

When her family returned, the teenager was gone.

Florida investigators tracked the young girl to a bus station, where they learned that Eman had purchased a bus ticket to Omaha, requesting a transfer to North Platte. Employees at the bus station told authorities that Eman had said she had family in North Platte, but the family told investigators that they have neither friends nor family anywhere in the United States.

Sparks said there is great concern over the young girl's disappearance because it is feared that Eman is traveling to North Platte after having met someone over the Internet. Police think that she is coming to North Platte to meet with whoever it was she had been speaking with online.

Sparks said Eman speaks good English, but with an accent. She is 5 feet, 4 inches tall, has short black hair and brown eyes. Details were still sketchy at press time on Thursday and investigators did not know Eman's weight or last known clothing. Any information on the whereabouts of Eman should be reported immediately to the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office or simply by calling 911.

As of 9 p.m. on Thursday evening, Eman was still believed missing, according to North Platte Police Lt. Rich Hoaglund.

The Osceola County Florida Sheriff’s Office contacted the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO) for assistance as it was thought the girl may be in the North Platte area.

Investigation by the LCSO, in cooperation with the Kuwait Embassy in Washington D.C., found leads in Omaha and McCook.

LCSO had been working closely with the North Platte office of the FBI, the Omaha Police Department and had contacted the McCook Police Department for assistance as well.

Leads that developed in McCook found Eman living with a 16-year-old
McCook resident and his mother. FBI Agents and McCook PD interviewed the McCook residents and found no evidence of foul play.

Eman met the young man in an internet chat room, which progressed to personal e-mails, and eventually telephone calls.

Eman rode a bus from Florida to Omaha and had made arrangements with the boy to pick her up in Omaha. Eman had been staying with the McCook family for about a week; a family relative saw a missing person flyer with Eman’s photo and notified the family who then called the McCook Police Department.

The Red Willow County Sheriff’s Office transported Eman to a secure
juvenile holding facility where she is waiting to be reunited with her mother and siblings.

“We are all lucky that Eman was not enticed to Nebraska by a Child
Predator. This incident appears to be relatively innocent and the young girl will be returned to her family as quickly as possible” said Sheriff Kramer.

“Young adults and parents must exercise extreme caution when communicating on the internet and should refrain from talking to strangers. You never know where the World Wide Web will take you or
who it will hook you up with,” he said.